Rally Masters (No Manual) - PlayStation 1 - PS1

Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions for PlayStation 1

Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions for PlayStation 1 combines rally driving with direct duels on parallel circuits. You choose a rally car and try to find the right balance between braking and speed on tarmac, gravel and snow. In the Race of Champions tournament, each opponent drives the same type of car as you. Your cornering and timing therefore make the difference. You start at the quarter-finals; a best-of-three series in each encounter decides who advances to the next round.

Alongside that tournament are championships, individual rallies and a race against the clock. The championships divide the cars into Formula 2, WRC and Legend, with events in countries including Italy, Sweden and Indonesia. You can use automatic gears or change down and up yourself. The handbrake helps with tight corners, but too much sliding costs speed on the following straight. A replay after the race shows where you allowed an opponent to gain time.

You play alone or with two players simultaneously in split-screen, each using their own controller. A standard controller works; a DualShock lets you steer with analogue control and use the right stick for acceleration and braking. Saving requires three free blocks on a Memory Card in slot 1. Best times and settings are saved after races; you save your championship position at the designated transitions between countries.

Region and language

Our PlayStation 1 games are PAL editions and come with a Dutch or English box, unless stated otherwise. By default, you receive the version for the European market. We note it in the product details if the region is different or the box is in another language. In almost all cases, the game is playable at least in English, and often in the other five common European languages too.

Manual

The manual is missing from this copy of Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions for PlayStation 1. That is why the product title says “No Manual”. You receive the game in its box, without the instruction booklet. This makes the contents clear before you order.

The original printed manual usually contains at least English and often around six European languages. The languages vary by edition; Dutch is not always included. This information describes the original booklet and does not mean that it comes with this copy. A copy with a manual is offered separately when available.

The history of Michelin Rally Masters: Race of Champions

Swedish developer Digital Illusions built Michelin Rally Masters around an existing motorsport event: the Race of Champions. Michèle Mouton and Fredrik Johnsson founded the event in 1988, partly in memory of Henri Toivonen. The idea was to have different rally champions compete in identical cars. The official game manual describes how the event travelled through France, Germany and Spain before eventually settling in the Canary Islands. That duelling character became the game's distinctive starting point.

Infogrames published the game in 2000. A February press release from Digital Illusions announced separate launch plans for Windows and PlayStation. The later quarterly report recorded the PlayStation version's actual European introduction in May. That same February announcement explained that Infogrames was withdrawing from the Nintendo 64 market and would therefore not publish that planned edition. The PlayStation release thus belongs to a project with plans for several platforms, but has its own console controls, split-screen and Memory Card saving.

During this period, Digital Illusions also worked on other racing games, including STCC and NASCAR Heat. Rally Masters focused on rally cars, historic vehicle classes and direct comparisons between two drivers. Alongside timed rally stages, PlayStation therefore received a recreation of the parallel Race of Champions format. This description covers that original PlayStation 1 version; the Windows edition's network features and patches are not part of it.

Similar games for PlayStation 1

Colin McRae Rally for PlayStation 1 also has you drive rally cars across changing surfaces. Its emphasis is on special stages where you complete a route as quickly as possible, helped by your co-driver's instructions. Rally Masters puts parallel duels and identical cars centre stage. Both require early braking and flowing corners, but here a visible opponent on the neighbouring lane constantly changes your sense of the lead.

Colin McRae Rally 2.0 for PlayStation 1 shares the rally cars, sliding on loose surfaces and choice of different events. Its rally campaign places greater emphasis on progressing through stages and countries, while the arcade sections put you directly against other cars. Rally Masters builds its most distinctive competition around the Race of Champions. Controlled sliding is the similarity; the event structure and central role of parallel circuits are the differences.

V-Rally 2 for PlayStation 1 combines rally stages with direct races and different road surfaces. In both games, you learn when to ease off the accelerator to stop a car sliding too far outwards. V-Rally 2 adds a track editor for building your own routes. Rally Masters starts from existing competition ideas and the identical cars of the Race of Champions. Here the focus is more on deciding a duel than designing a course.

TOCA 2 Touring Cars for PlayStation 1, like Rally Masters, demands a feel for braking points, grip and the space around other cars. TOCA 2 concentrates on touring cars racing together on a closed circuit. Rally Masters shifts the focus to rally cars and surfaces such as gravel and snow. In parallel duels, you can follow your opponent's progress without constantly sharing the same racing line with a full field.

Gran Turismo 2 for PlayStation 1 offers rally events alongside tarmac races, so you encounter the same transition between grip and controlled sliding. Its broader structure revolves around licences, a garage and collecting and tuning cars. Rally Masters keeps its focus on rally cars and individual competitions, especially the Race of Champions. Here you more often compare two performances in identical machines, while Gran Turismo 2 also makes you consider which car to build up.